Between homemade, restaurant, and store-bought, these are the best black bean burgers I’ve ever tried. With great reviews from taste testers around the world, I’m confident you’ll be satisfied with this bean burger recipe. They’re big, thick, hearty, and flavorful. The trick is to partially dry out the black beans so the burgers do not taste mushy. Grill or bake the black bean burgers and enjoy on a bun, plain, or on a salad.
A few weeks ago I made a batch of what I believe to be the best black bean burgers ever. Or at least the best black bean burgers I’ve ever had. These were a massive hit with the family. We couldn’t believe the hearty texture, incredible flavor, and overall ease of preparation. I was expecting good, but not this good.
These Black Bean Burgers Are:
- easy
- healthy
- hearty
- satisfying
- big + thick
- compact
- garlicky
- juicy
- spicy
- NOT MUSHY
I feel the need to shout that these black bean burgers are not mushy, one of the common problems with homemade black bean burgers. On the other hand, these black bean burgers are not crumbly either. They hold their shape beautifully!
Quick Video Tutorial
How to Make My Best Black Bean Burgers
The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it quickly so you understand each step before you get started
- Partially dry out the black beans. I learned this from Serious Eats. Spread out the canned black beans onto a lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. This prevents the black bean burgers from tasting like mush.
- While the black beans are in the oven, sauté some garlic, onion, and pepper together. This will be the flavor base of the entire burger. Make sure you blot the garlic, onion, + pepper when they’re done—you don’t want its moisture in the black bean burger.
- Food processor or fork! Your choice. Whichever you choose, make sure you don’t completely mash the black beans. We want a bulky and satisfying texture. Larger chunks of beans are the best part!
- FLAVOR. A black bean burger would simply be a patty made from beans if we didn’t add some pizazz. The sautéed garlic, onion, + pepper combo is a great start, but a little cumin, worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, feta cheese, and chili pepper turn black beans into the BEST black bean burger.
Now let’s talk about binders.
And not the kind you bring to school. How do the black bean burgers hold their shape?
- Breadcrumbs. I used gluten free bread crumbs to keep the burgers GF, but any bread crumbs are great. You can use crushed crackers, almond flour, or even oat flour instead.
- Ketchup. I love ketchup so the more the merrier, but you only need 2 Tablespoons. Some sort of condiment like this is needed so the burgers hold their shape. Instead of ketchup, try mayo or BBQ sauce. (I used a tangy BBQ sauce in the 2nd batch and the burgers were incredible.)
- 2 eggs. Best burger binder you’ll find.
All of this stuff, plus the baked black beans, goes into 1 big bowl. Lightly mash it all with a fork to combine. It’s too easy.
How to Shape & Cook Black Bean Burgers
Shape the black bean burgers however large or small you want, keeping in mind that the larger they are, the more unevenly they’ll cook. From what I tested, the sweet spot is about 1/3 cup of mixture.
You can bake or grill the burgers—instructions for both included in the printable recipe below. You can also make the burgers ahead of time and freeze, which is what I did for our trip. Stack them between parchment paper in a freezer container or zipped-top bag. You can even bake/grill the frozen burgers if you forget to thaw them.
As one of my favorite Memorial Day recipes, I always make a batch ahead for the grill!
For a light lunch, skip the bun and eat on a salad. For a seriously impressive supper, get creative with the toppings: mashed avocado + caramelized onion, pepper jack cheese + spicy mustard + sweet pickles, herbed goat cheese + roasted red peppers, sriracha + sautéed mushrooms, mozzarella + pesto, corn salsa + cheddar cheese, or even chunky guacamole. They would go great with zucchini casserole or berry quinoa salad on the side.
The last time I made them, I piled the black bean burgers high with BBQ sauce, Swiss cheese, and grilled pineapple. Best thing I’ve eaten all week. And my week included s’mores made with peanut butter cups. SO THAT’S A GOOD BURGER.
More Favorite Dinner Recipes
- Maryland Crab Cakes
- Sausage Stuffed Peppers
- Honey Garlic Shrimp
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Lemon Thyme Chicken
- Baked Chicken Meatballs
- Zucchini Fritters or Corn Fritters
For even more inspiration here are 15+ summer dinner ideas!
Print
The Best Black Bean Burgers I’ve Ever Had
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-7 burgers
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Between homemade, restaurant, and store-bought, these are the best black bean burgers I’ve ever tried. These burgers are not vegan or vegetarian. (See recipe note to make adjustments if necessary.) With great reviews from taste testers around the world, I’m confident you’ll be satisfied with this black bean burger recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 (14 ounce) cans black beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper (1/2 of a pepper)
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs or oat flour
- 1/2 cup feta cheese (skip if vegan)
- 2 large eggs (see note for vegan substitution)
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (see note for vegan & vegetarian version)
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup, mayo, or BBQ sauce
- pinch salt + pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Spread beans evenly onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until slightly dried out.
- Meanwhile, sauté olive oil, chopped pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until peppers and onions are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Gently blot some of the moisture out. Place in a large bowl or in a food processor with the remaining ingredients (cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, bread crumbs, cheese, eggs, worcestershire, ketchup, salt, and pepper). Stir or pulse everything together, then add the black beans. Mash with a fork or pulse the mixture, leaving some larger chunks of beans.
- Form into patties– about 1/3 cup of mixture in each.
- To bake: Place patties on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F (191°C) for 10 minutes on each side, 20 minutes total. To grill: Place patties on greased aluminum foil and grill 8 minutes on each side. Heat temperature is personal preference as all grills differ. Generally, black bean burgers should grill on medium-high heat about 350°F (177°C) – 400°F (204°C).
- Serve with your favorite toppings. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cooked or uncooked black bean burgers freeze wonderfully for up to 3 months. Stack between parchment paper in a freezer container or zipped-top bag. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat to your liking or, if uncooked, cook according to instructions. If desired, you can skip thawing and reheat/cook from frozen for an extra couple minutes.
- Vegan & Vegetarian: Worcestershire sauce is not vegan or vegetarian. For vegetarian burgers, leave it out or replace with your favorite vegetarian condiment such as BBQ sauce. For vegan burgers, make the following 3 changes– (1) leave out the Worcestershire sauce or replace with your favorite vegan condiment such as BBQ sauce, (2) leave out the cheese, and (3) replace the eggs with 1/3 cup mashed sweet potato.
Keywords: black beans, black bean burgers
My granddaughter really loved them but the one problem I had was they fell apart. I followed the recipe exactly. They stayed together when I took them off the grill but fell apart when I put them on the bun. She said flavor was great. Not sure what sent wrong.
★★★★
Hi Sharon, They are a slightly delicate burger. Perhaps mashing the beans a bit more next time will help them bind with the other ingredients. Glad you enjoyed them!
This was delicious!!! I’m not a vegetarian and I loved it!
★★★★★
I love this recipe and decided to crumble the stupre the day after to make soft taco filled like a burrito. SO good! I feel like it would also be a great topping for a ‘burrito bowl’. Thanks for the recipe! A definite “keeper”.
can confirm – it was delicious! One kid wasn’t open minded enough to try it, the one who I thought would gag gobbled it right up, I was amazed!
It is really THE BEST black bean burger recipe! I have made it 3 times already in the last month. The whole family loves it!
These were phenomenal. To me the acid test was ‘how do they taste day 2?’ Our old recipe was delicious on day 1, but were dry like the desert on day 2. These are just as tasty, and the spices make the patty so flavorful. We will use this recipe again and again.
★★★★★
I made this yesterday and absolutely loved it. Cooked it in the air fryer for around 9 minutes. Forgot to soak my black beans (thought I had canned) so cooked the beans for a few hours in my slow cooker. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you
They are amazing, so tasty. Second time of making them.
Delicious! Seriously a really good recipe I’ll be making on repeat! I haven’t had veggie burgers in years as they’re always so disappointing, but these were beautiful! Easy to make, and the mix was so stable and easy to form into patties. I initially ovened them but switched to the grill to get a crispy exterior, I topped with melted goats cheese, red onion and tomato.. a real winner, thanks so much for the recipe
My tastebuds and my tummy do not like bell peppers. What can I sub?
I really want to try them!
Hi Susan, other readers have swapped the green peppers for more onion or corn.
This sounds great. We love black beans. I have a Ninja Power XL, can I make these in the air fryer? I am new to air frying.
Hi Ferne, we haven’t tested these black bean burgers in an air fryer but let us know if you do – it should work well!
I’ve been making these for years and they’re amazing!
I was wondering if you had the macros for them?
Thank you!
★★★★★
This recipe, along with so many of yours, sounds amazing! I would like, however, to get some nutrition information so that I can gage how many calories I’m ingesting.
Hi Leah, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Made this a few times
Added fresh chopped cilantro and cooked on the bbq
Absolutely delicious
Thanks Sally
★★★★★
I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now. It is the best black bean burger recipe hands down. It takes a little time to prep, like most veggie burgers, but so worth it.
I’ve made this a few times now for vegetarian friends but even my non-vegetarian friends love it! I also love pan-frying mine to give it a crisp and adding cheese to it. It’s very versatile, and the best black bean burger I’ve had!
★★★★★
I come from a family of meat lovers, but recently I have been working to be more conscious of the amount that I consume. This is such a hearty and forgiving recipe and I’m so thankful for the time and thought that was put into creating it! I’m not a fan of peppers so I swapped those with corn and I used a delicious apple flavored barbeque sauce which added a great flavor profile to the burgers! My family was really happy with the meal and this has definitely become a staple in our house 🙂
★★★★★
Loved loved loved it. Family loved it. Would love a recipe for a great mayo type condiment. I made a homemade guacamole for it which worked well. Any chance you know the calorie count? I can figure it out. Just lazy:-)
★★★★★
Hi Bonnie! So glad your family loved these. We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Made this last night and everyone raved! Definitely going into the rotation!